Why we packed sourdough for our vacation

Have you ever cooked pizza in the middle of a campground, with friends from three different countries, on a hot summer evening in Montana? We hadn’t either until last month. (Scroll down to see photos.)

One of my favourite moments from our vacation happened far from home, at a small KOA at Three Forks, Montana. Fifteen of us gathered at their brand-new outdoor patio, kids playing cards and cornhole, the smell of pizza drifting through the air, and s’mores on the campfire. We were making pizza from scratch with dough we’d prepared ourselves over the past couple of days. We’d even brought some of our sourdough starter from New Zealand (you can safely take it into the US, we checked). Regan baked bread in a cast-iron Dutch oven we had picked up at Bass Pro (yes, it was super heavy to bring back into New Zealand!). That sourdough is now living on in Texas with our friends, who are already baking with it.

We didn’t have all our usual kitchen tools, but the dough worked, the toppings came together (including a last-minute cheese, smoked bacon, and maple syrup combo that was amazing), and the conversations flowed. There were lots of laughs, a couple of teary-eyed moments, old memories shared, and new ones made. Other campers wandered over, curious about what we were doing. I don’t think they had seen pizza made at a campsite before, and the owners loved seeing the space full of people enjoying the long summer daylight.

Wherever you are, whatever season you are in, even if you are far from home, there is a way to make eating together happen. It doesn’t have to be perfect or polished, just real, shared, and it’s going to be a little bit magical.